Today students turned in their Writer’s Notebooks with their Name Pieces. We discussed how to give feedback in writing groups.
Here was our agenda:
1. Complete Personal Profile / Info Sheet (click the hyperlink to download). Students who did not finish the Personal Profile in class should complete it for homework.
2. Reading Homework: All students need to read one of the four pieces provided in class. These pieces are excerpts from one of the following longer works: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Robert Pirsig), Reminiscences (Virginia Woolf), The Color of Water (James McBride), or The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Sherman Alexie). These are personal copies for students to keep. That means you can highlight, write, underline, etc. on these copies.
HOMEWORK LINK:
I could only find one of the readings online, but I think it is appropriate for either standard or honors students. Also, any honors students interested in reading more of the book can read it here.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (starting with chapter 1, on page 4, until the paragraph that starts “What is in mind is a sort of Chautauqua…”, p. 8)
3. Turn in Writer’s Notebook.
4. Model Effective Feedback: I read my name piece to the class and students helped model what a Writer’s Group will look like next week. We answered the questions: What parts work in this piece? What parts did you like? What parts don’t you understand? What needs to be expanded?
5. Plus / Delta for English I this week: Students gave me their thoughts about what worked well for their learning and what we could do differently next week.
HW: Read the memoir excerpt chosen in class. Standard: Copy onto notebook paper 2 quotes that show concrete descriptions and 1 quote that shows figurative language. Honors: Copy onto notebook paper 3 quotes that show concrete descriptions and 3 quotes that show figurative language. Then (Honors and Standard both), write down 3 adjectives that describe the writer’s tone.
ALEXA GARVOILLE 